Chancing Time
by Lost-Remembrance
Summary: After foiling a bombing attempt, Heero finds himself in the worst of situations...stuck on a speeding bus at the whim of a madman. 1xR
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, it's characters, or the movie Speed and it's characters

Rating: PG-13 (rating may go up)

Warnings: Language, possible gore, and violence! Buahaha!

Author's Note: Another one joins the bunch :dances to Queen's song 'Another one Bites the Dust': And another joins, and another one joins, and another joins the bunch! I feel like crap, so I'm updating all these stories that I've been working on inbetween school and other updates...

Love, Red Tail

Pairings: 1xRx1 and other's to be announced

**_Chancing Time_  
****By: Lost-Remembrance (Red Tail)**

Chapter One: Prologue

Monday, August 15 AD 2006—1:30 PM:

The clock ticked. Time continued as the hustle and bustle of people grabbing their coffee and their papers from over the weekend as the start of a new week began.

Ringing to announce the time, many people looked up with a sigh of relief at the time—three. Meetings ended at three for the more important executives, meaning freedom for those who put their whole life into the company.

A woman with mari-golden braids on either side of her shoulders looked up with powder blue eyes and closed her office door with a look of relief. Turning the key to effectively lock away her possessions and space, she couldn't stop her mind from thinking about that nice bubble bath she was going to go home and take.

Upon turning around to exit the hallway, she smiled at who she saw making her way towards freedom's gates too after an exhausting day. Crossing the distance easily, she noticed her friend and work companion hadn't noticed her yet.

Smiling slyly, she wondered if she would be able to make the darker haired woman jump a little bit. Incidents like those were rare and numbered few for Sally Po.

"Hey," She greeted with a small wave of her hand.

"Hey to you too." The person with a shoulder length hair cut commented back as se looked to see who would bother her in her obvious 'don't mess with me' mood.

"Miss Une?" The woman turned around with a soft look on her face as the secretary knew not to bother her on days like these, "Yes?"

"Oh, uh—um—" Gulping, the secretary flushed deeply and pulled out a piece of paper, "Mr. Treize says that he'll still be expecting you for dinner."

She smiled, "Yes, of course."

Turning, both of the left and the secretary sighed in relief. She was new to this company and she had all but heard the people talk of the woman's split personalities.

"So, how did the meeting go?" Sally looked at Une who sighed heavily as they both made their way to the elevator, shuffling half empty coffee cups and papers from the meetings each had gone to.

"Not very well." A person next to the auburn haired woman said, flashing a weary smile before nodding to them and making his way to the elevator also.

"Unfortunately, the feelings of distrust between OZ and the—" She broke off, waving to a person in front of her, "Hold the door, hey!"

Chuckling with amusement at her friend's hasty movements, Sally quickened her pace and walked into the elevator too to join her friend and continue with their conversation.

"Mr. Treize says that, hopefully, things won't be as bad later on as they are now." Sally gave Une a sympathetic look.

"Luckily, all I have to do is worry about medical expenses and the works."

"Really now?" Une sarcastically commented, "That sounds so interesting." The two of them stepped into the elevator, filled with colleges from their own departments.

"Oh," Sally drawled, rolling her eyes, "You have no idea. Do you know how many people complain about not having Medicare when it's already included when they start working here?"

Une let out a small laugh that she politely hid behind her hand. She could tell by some of the blushes of the newer executives that they too had gone through the same experience.

Sally flashed them a smile, "Not that I mind of course." The embarrassed blush deepened on two of the people.

The doors closed as one more person slipped in.

Noin, a person that worked with Sally pressed the ground floor button, despite the light already being on.

Mueller, a person near Noin laughed, "Jeez, how many times do you have to press that button, Ms. Noin?" He joked with a hint of mock lacing his voice.

Slapping him lightly on the arm she crossed her arms defensively, "However many times I want to."

Sally leaned in, whispering, "You're just like a little kid sometimes, Noin!" The darker haired woman huffed and slapped her on top of the head with a folder of papers.

Then, the elevator began it's descent.

"So," Noin said as she flashed them one of their smiles, "How's work going for you?" Sally laughed good-heartily and Une sighed with exhaustion, shaking her head in a sorrowful manner.

"Oh, don't mind her." Sally commented, clasping her weary friend's shoulder, "She'll be fine tonight." A wicked gleam appeared in her eyes as she nudged her friend with her elbow in the side.

"Wh—h—w!" Une said, trying to get her voice working. She flushed indignantly and crossed her arms, closing her eyes and turned away. Noin and Sally laughed while apologizing in a truthful manner.

"Anything else new?" All the sudden, Noin frowned for a moment. Then, something shook the elevator with a loud 'boom!' to go with it.

Sh felt her gut almost reach her throat as she looked at the control panel and saw the numbers flashing in the semi-darkness as the lights flickered out and the emergency lights flickered on in a dusky tone.

'40…39…38…37…36…35…34…33…' The numbers flashed by so quickly, mixing in a blur it seemed before they were jerked to a halt.

Panting as she tried to regain herself from the sudden drop and equally sudden stop, she looked at her friends, "What was that?" She all but whispered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What's the situation, Zechs?" Still putting on equipment to his vest and holstering his gun, Duo, by all means, looked the part of a stealth assassin, decked out in black with a maniacal grin in place.

"Not good." The older man sighed, running a gloved hand through his white-blonde hair and looked at the men in front of him with serious, ice blue eyes. He too was decked out in black, his long hair was pulled into a low hanging pony tail so it wouldn't get in the way of his work—not that it ever had.

"How bad?" Duo looked over at his partner, Heero Yuy who shot him a small glance with his cold dark blue eyes when he caught the stare.

Duo simply smirked back and ignored the glare, sticking his tongue out and reached behind him, checking to make sure his own long hair, which was pulled into a braid, wouldn't get in the way or get loose. He took out another hair tie and wrapped it around securely, nodding his head to himself when he finished. "Perfect."

Heero snorted, "With you, it always is."

Duo grinned back, "I think you got the wrong person, buddy."

Clearing his throat, Zechs got the attention of the two bickering friends, and partners. "There are hostages in an elevator, express." He looked at Heero who nodded at the information. "There's a bomb attached to it." Everyone looked at one another with a worried glance. "It's stuck between the thirty-first and the thirty-second floor."

"How big is this building?" Duo mocked as he crossed his arms.

"Forty-six floors and more coming." Zechs replied back, "The top floor of the building is forty-seven and the roof is currently a construction site as they're planning on adding another floor."

Gaping Duo mumbled some brash words under his breath.

Shaking his head at Duo he looked at Zechs after a slight pause, "Have all the other elevators been stopped and all others evacuated?"

Nodding, Zechs leaned against the desk behind him from where they were positioned on the ground floor.

"Damn." Duo muttered as he glared at the floor. With the elevators shut down and nothing to stop the elevator, they were sitting ducks.

"We have a man, and he wants six million—no money, and they die. There's also a time frame—an hour and," Zechs looked at his watch, "Time is ticking as of now. We only got twenty-three minutes and counting."

Heero looked down at his watch—1:32. They had gotten the call at one o'clock and they were still nowhere along the lines of getting the money or saving the hostages.

Duo whistled at the amount the bomber was asking for—much more than his salary, Which he considered a lot for his and Heero's age since they got bonuses.

Someone else in the group spoke up, a man wearing a dark ski hat with some sandy brown hair sticking out from the hole for the forehead. "Is there anything that we can do to stop it?"

"What, the elevator?" Zechs shook his head in a negative, sighing and he closed his eyes. It seemed like they were never prepared for situations like these. Hopefully, Duo and Heero would find something to do—they were, after all, the top two Preventers.

"Nothing except the basement." Heero darkly commented on, running his own gloved hand through his long bangs to brush them out of his eyes. He crossed his arms and looked at the floor, leaning against the same desk Zechs was.

"Yuy, we can't allow that to happen." Heero nodded in affirmation.

Duo piped up after his monetary silence as he assessed the situation and weighed each plan or idea. "What do we have on the perp?" Simple question, right? Simple questions involved easy answers that might get them some way to figure something out.

Heero remained silent, as if pondering something.

"We got no info on the guy—not even a picture to look at of his face." Duo narrowed his eyes. This was rare, especially of Zechs who tried to do his job thoroughly. "There isn't much we know about the situation either. The guy is in radio silence, he won't negotiate or anything.

What we do know, is that there was a smaller bomb attached to the elevator and when it was set off, the bomb exploded. The emergency brakes were activated, but there's another bomb."

"Duo can deactivate it." Duo jerked his head up to look at his partner, who was smirking coldly.

Mouth hanging open, Duo got his jaw to work and said, "I can!" Sure he was an expert at creating and dismantling bombs, but—

"Good." Heero nodded curtly and turned on his heel sharply, quickly making his way from the room with Duo trailing behind him with a serious look on his face.

"Looks like we're hitting the stairs?" Duo commented as they slammed open the door and quickly made their way up the stairs… to floor thirty-two.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Damn, Noin, what button did you push?" Mueller said, trying to lighten up the mood between the obviously tense people he was surrounded by. The only people who looked like they were in their right mind were himself, Noin, Sally, and Une.

Shooting Mueller a look, which silenced him, she turned to ignore him. After all, how could she respond to something like that without having the tensions in the cramped space rise?

The woman beside Noin was hyperventilating, "There's no air…" She panted, looking around with frantic eyes as she gripped the handlebar behind her tightly with sweaty palms.

"Hush," Noin soothing tried, "There's plenty of air."

"Why is no one up here to come and get us yet?" Mueller asked, biting his lower lip with frustration and anxiety. His eyes darted back and forth as he tried to remain calm.

"I'm sure that there's a reason." Sally said back calmly, as she remained cool and collected herself. Promising herself she wouldn't let the situation get the best of her, she looked over at Noin to see how she was holding up, and then to Une who was beside her.

Shooting Sally a look, Une gave a weak smile in the dim light of the elevator. "I've always hated Mondays."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Thirty-one," Duo said as they passed by a couple of civilians being escorted down by some of the police guards. "And," he proclaimed as they reached the landing with the number's '32' on it, "Thirty-two!" He wiped the pretend sweat on his brow off and grinned at Heero who gave him a mock glare at his actions.

"Here it is." Heero kicked open the door with the slightest amount of strength as he cocked his submachine gun and flicked off the safety, quickly rolling into the room and checking both ways of the hall.

Duo came in next, eyes darting back and forth as he checked out their surroundings for any possible threats of danger. "Ready?"

Heero sharply nodded, getting up from his crouch. He turned in a direction, spotting the area for the elevator's and turned back to Duo, "This way!"

"Gotchya!" Duo reached up to his ear and walked up to Heero, "Radio?"

Reaching up also, Heero switched on his ear piece and put his gun at a more neutral position at his side. His body was tense like a spring, ready to pounce and fire.

Duo went first, running swiftly, and deadly silent, up to the tiles where the elevator opening was. He glanced back at Heero, beckoning with his head, "All clear, buddy."

The ear piece cackled silently as Duo's message was replayed. Heero looked up and relayed his message back to his partner and was off down the hall.

Heero was by his partner's side in a few seconds, drill in hand as he eased off his jacket full of things he wouldn't need.

"The only way in is through the access panels." Turning the drill on, he brought it to the metal and quickly removed the screws from their spots. Taking the metal off of the wall, he looked in.

"Is anyone there!" A voice called, muffled as Heero looked into the semi-darkness with skilled eyes. He spotted the elevator below and pulled back.

Duo came up, a chair from one of the offices in tote as he set it down below the opening, gave Heero a nod and climbed in with his partner following behind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Deep down in the shadows, lurking like a predator watching it's prey, a figure paused in his work. Bending down and reaching over all the other strewn electronics, he smirked and picked up a nearby device and holding it up as he paused in his work to listen.

Frowned, he mumbled ever so softly, "What in the world…?" It sounded like rats scurrying about, but he knew better. Then, he heard the voices of the occupants in the elevator.

His hostages that would earn him the money he deserved.

He wouldn't let anyone screw him over this time. He looked down with venom at his hand. All those damned people would pay for what happened. He would get him money, and then everything would be fine.

His eyes narrowed, flashing darkly as he listened to the strange sounds again, only this time for closely. The movements were soft, so faint that a human ear would probably not pick them up.

However... No one would interfere with his plans, not while he was so far into the game…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Heero slipped into the darkness and followed Duo, letting his eyes adjust to the not as well lit area's that people, other than maintenance wouldn't see of a building. Both moved with expertise ease as they made their way through the metal and support devices.

He looked around the beams of steel and paused when he found what he was looking for.

Motioned for Duo to come and follow him as he located a ladder, the two of them made their way down to were he could see the elevator.

Moving like a cat, Duo made his way to the elevator.

"Is someone out there!" He heard a woman shout from inside the elevator. Duo looked at Heero for a moment and then looked back at the elevator. He hated involving civilians in things like these.

"Hello!" A man called this time, "If you can hear us, please get us out of here!"

Heero sighed, "Don't worry," he calmly stated, removing his flash light and flicking it on with his finger as he looked along the top of the structure for the threat. "We're Preventers."

The voices calmed down for a bit and, if Duo had been listening, they would have heard the people question, "Why are the Preventer's here, and not the maintenance people?"

Finding their bomb, Heero's light shone on the intricate machine that held these people's fate of life and death in their hands. Heero hated people who thought they were God, thinking they could control who lives and who dies.

"This is it?" Duo's hands graced over the machine.

"Well?" Heero looked at his friends eyes and he clenched his hands onto the light more tightly. He knew that look.

"What do you think?"

Heero sighed, "I don't know." He looked down at the bomb once more, "I'm not the bomb expert here."

"Yeah," Duo mumbled, choosing for more along the lines of stealth and bombs while Heero chose destruction, weapons, and demolition of everything. But, each did have experience in each, they just preferred certain things, like people with food.

"Well?" Heero questioned once again after his friend's long silence.

"It looks pretty solid." Heero knew Duo wouldn't try to deactivate the bomb with his words and tried to muffle out the words of the hostages as they tried to contact them.

"It's been made differently from others," Duo sighed and shut his eyes, "I don't know if there's some sort of other mechanism that can some how trigger it."

"So it'd be a fifty-fifty?" Heero mumbled, "We can't do that. Zech's skin us if we kill these hostages."

"Is there something else we can do?"

"What, then?" Heero looked over at his partner who got up from his spot on the elevator and hopped up on a support beam.

Duo stared at him, "I don't know. I guess there isn't much, huh buddy?" Heero nodded to that.

"Pop quiz." Heero looked at Duo who was staring off somewhere else, "A guy is at the airport, gunman. If the gunman is leaving to go on a jet with a hostage in front of him as cover, what would you do?"

Heero looked at Duo for a moment before turning away this time, "Shoot the hostage." He knew Duo jerked his head around to stare at him with that incredulous look in his violet-bluish eyes.

"What?" He hissed, laughing at Heero after the darker haired brunette didn't respond. "I'll never understand you, Hee-chan."

"Then, the hostage would be injured and would be out of the equation." Heero narrowed his eyes, finishing off his thought as he looked up, towards the top of the building,

"So what are we gonna do?"

"Get rid of the hostages." Heero replied cryptically.

"What? Are we gonna shoot 'em or something?" Duo raised an eyebrow at him, "We aren't… right?" This time, however, he didn't sound so sure.

Once they were out of the elevator shaft, Heero slid through the access panel and turned to face his partner with determined eyes. "No." Heero made his way quickly back to the stairs and looked up.

Duo followed behind, walking into the landing for the level. Following Heero's eyes, he sighed, "We're going up?" Heero nodded, "Up it is then!"

"So, Mr. Perfect Preventer, what's the plan?" The two of them kicked open the locked door to the top floor, looking around the construction equipment before their eyes fell on a small crane hooked down for construction on another floor.

Chewing his gum for a minute, Heero paused for only seconds to go over his plan before responding, "We're going to remove them from the equation." He reached for a beam, pulling himself up easily as he made his way over to the crane.

Grabbing the metal wire, he tossed the wire and hook to Duo who was standing near a vent. "You sure this'll work?"

"I have a gut feeling that he's going to set it off even if we do give him the six bill."

"Yeah, but gut feelings don't get anywhere with Zechs, and you know that better than anyone."

"Hn." Heero continued to feed the cable to Duo until he figured it was enough for them to work with.

Jumping down from the ledge, Heero stood up and walked over to the door. He paused as he turned to his partner, "Ready?"

Duo smirked and nodded and looked at his partner for a minute, dashing forward to catch up with him. "Well, we'd better hurry up. Time's running out."

"How much?"

Duo looked at his watch, taking a breath as they made their way quickly down the flights of stairs. "Six minutes."

Back down in the elevator shaft, all was quiet as the passengers in the elevator had no idea what was going on.

"Why don't they just pry the doors open?" Sally questioned as he looked at the doors, her ears picking up nothing outside the compartment but silence.

"I don't know…"

"Why aren't they doing anything?" Noin growled with a furious look in her eyes. They were paying these people to do things that helped them, so where were they now?

"Do you think they left?" A panicked business man questioned with beady black eyes that darted back and forth as he leaned into another disgruntled business man who growled and pushed the man away.

Une gave them a look that silenced them. Sally gave an encouraging smile, "They wouldn't abandon us."

"You're right…"

A woman wasn't so sure of that herself, feeling something in her gut that froze her body. She tried once more to get a response, "Hello?" A voice called out from the elevator, this time getting no response.

TBC

Author's note: Just finished watching the movie Speed, and it is AWE-some! I simply loved it, however, there were scratches (damn you, disk!) so I don't know some of the parts, but we're gonna buy it since it was so totally wicked!

Reviews and comments are always welcome.

Info about the Story: This is an AU, meaning that it doesn't follow the Gundam Wing timeline, however, you will find references to it. I didn't want to do LAPD, so I decided to use the Preventer's instead. I'm also trying to work it so that the other characters in the show will have a bigger role (there aren't a lot of main characters) in this story. I will most likely alter the plot in one part, so you've been warned.

Love, Red Tail


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

Heero was hanging upside down, cheeks flushed as the blood rushed to his head. He forced himself to remain as steady as he could, not that he was unnerved by the situation.

Duo grunted from above Heero.

Slowly, the braided man lowered the metal cable as he leaned away from the support beam they were using as a lever to add extra support. Duo thanked god today that he decided to wear gloves, or if he was going this now, it would hurt like hell.

"Tell me again why I do this?" Heero questioned as he was lowered back down over the elevator.

"Oh come on!" Duo joked merrily, "Thirty more years and you'll get a pretty cheap gold watch and a small little sack of money for you're service!"

Heero snorted, "Thanks for reminding me." The wire let him down some more and his fingers skimmed along the metal of the elevator, "Ho!"

The cable stopped, locking in place as Duo positioned himself so that he was holding Heero up. For all they knew, the bomb could be sensitive to being touched or something.

Heero attached the metal hook to the elevator and looked up as best as he could, pulling the cable holding him suspended in the air with two sharp jabs. Slowly, he was pulled up at first, then more quickly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After a period of silence, sounds filled the ear piece as the shadowed figure paused once more in his work. Growling, he picked up his device to pick up on the sounds and cursed softly, "What the hell!"

He pressed the ear piece more into his ear, intently listening to try and differ what was making the sounds. He glared at the wall of the freight elevator he holed himself up in.

Growling as he heard odd sounds of metal being moved and what sounded like ropes, the old man dropped the device he used for listening and picked up the control for the bomb.

"Don't screw around with me." He dropped the stick, smirking coldly as the sounds of the bomb exploding reached his satisfied ears.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Duo and Heero raced through the halls and made their way down the stairs once again, jumping steps as they rushed down to the twelfth floor. Duo panted as they raced full out towards the elevator area and skid to a halt at the access panels of this floor.

"Damnit, the son of a bitch jumped it!"

"I thought so." Heero said as he pulled out some pliers and pulled the doors apart, his muscles taunt as he held them as best as he could while Duo bent down to the other side and jammed the doors with his pliers on either side.

"Please held us!" They could hear people screaming as they looked up to see the elevator showing a little bit.

"I don't want to die!"

"Get some back-up sent up here!" Heero shouted, prying the doors apart and jamming them in place. Just as he completed his task, his hands were jerked to a halt, a woman holding his wrist tightly in place.

"Please!" His captor shouted, "Don't let me die!"

"Don't worry," he assured, "I'm going to get you all out of here." The woman looked at him with teary eyes and nodded, releasing his hand to let the Preventer do his job.

Grabbing the woman's hand once more, he calmly stated, "Watch you head, I'm going to pull you through!" The woman nodded and let Heero pull her, the elevator dropping a few inches—enough for them to get her out.

"Next!" He shouted as he detached the woman's arms from around his neck and set her down, turning swiftly to get the next person out.

A hand grabbed his and he eased the next person out, officers running around the corner to help. "Hurry!" They shouted, checking the woman to see if she had any injuries.

"Duo, grab her!" Duo nodded and pulled the hysteric woman off of Heero's body, letting the woman cling to her as she panted and gasped, mumbling things as another officer pulled out a hypodermic needle and eased it into her arm slowly, allowing some morphine to calm her down.

"Sally, go!" Heero pulled the woman named Sally out of the elevator as it dropped a few inches more, the crane already having collapsed and hitting numerous different beams which slowed the elevator from it's deadly descent.

"Une!" Sally shouted, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw her friend being pulled out.

"Don't let me go, please." Une said to the prussian eyed man, who looked to be in his teens.

"I won't." He calmly assured her, and his words did the effect and promise as he pulled her up and Duo grabbed her hand to help her down.

"Come on, sir." Heero said, hand out stretched as he looked at a stiff younger man who was standing at the edge of the elevator. He shook his head.

"Come on, sir! Grab my hand, now!" Heero shouted, voice urging the man.

Once again, said man shook his head back and forth, eyes fearful, "I don't want to die," was what he whispered to the young Preventer.

"Mueller, please!" Noin whispered as she looked at the man with wide eyes. Why wasn't he getting out?

"Look, just take a step and grab my hand." The man took a step and reached, Heero's strong hand encircling the other mans and pulling him up.

"Don't let me go," the dark-haired man panted, "Please!" He begged as Heero pulled him up, muscles straining as he leaned back and pulled the man to safety. Just as the man's feet were out, within seconds, the elevator came crashing down.

"Thank you," the man looked at Heero and Duo with teary eyes, "You saved my life."

Zechs came running around the corner with more back up to escort the hostages out. He froze in his tracks as he looked at one of the hostages, "Lucrezia?"

One of the women in the group gasped, short blue hair rising in the air slightly with her sudden spin as she stared at the officer in front of her, "Zechs?"

"Well, well," Duo commented as he sat down in a chair with a heavy collapse and Heero followed suit next to his partner. "Looks like Commander knows someone…"

Zechs shot Duo a warning look before he turned back around, getting a grin from Duo.

"So it seems." Heero gruffly commented as he picked his gun out of his holster and flicked the safety off, then back on.

"Let's get these hostages out of here." Preventer's rushed around to bring to people to a safer level, preferably the first floor, and then evac the building with the rest of the police and hosatage's.

Duo and Heero got up, walking away from the group as they headed in the opposite direction than the others.

"He jumped the gun."

"Yeah," Duo darkly muttered, "Son of a bitch. We still had three minutes left."

Heero frowned, "But why would he risk loosing all that money?" Him and Duo sat down on a chair with a tired look on their face. After all, it was a long day's work for them to go running around from one crime scene to the next.

"Maybe he didn't have the balls to wait it out." Duo shrugged, "It's getting pretty common now-a-days in all them old men..."

"No." Heero stood up, looking around with narrowing eyes, "He's here."

"What?" Duo laughed slightly for a minute, "Heero, he could have dropped the stick from anywhere. For all we know, he's half way around the world!"

"No," Heero shook his head, cold eyes looking around in a calculating manner. "He knew something was up. He's here—he must have seen or heard us somehow."

"But how?" Duo leaned forward, "All the elevators have been shut down and the building has been evacuated. Why would he corner himself in a place like this?"

Heero licked his lips, eyes darting with suspicion in some places, "I don't know, but I do know he's here."

"Well…" Duo's eyebrows knit together in concentration, "The express have been shut down but… what about the freight elevators?" Heero looked up, pointing to Duo as if he won the jackpot and turned. Walking down the corridor silently, the two of them trained their guns on any possible threats as they made their way back to where the hostages were pulled from.

Finally at said spot, Duo looked at Heero and Heero at him. Nodding, Heero pointed his barrel towards the ceiling in a armed fashion. Looking down and leaning into the access panel, Heero stood silent and listened. A cough came from the shaft and Duo and Heero both looked at one another once more.

"How you come up with these damn things still gets me, buddy." Duo said as he watched Heero grab some of the ropes holding the elevator up and slid down with expertise as Duo followed behind him.

Duo looked at Heero as he made his own way from the beams and ladders to the elevator holding their bomber. He looked at Heero as they both landed on their destination.

Then, metal went flying as a gunshot exploded.

"This'll teach you to mess with me!" The man shouted, firing his gun as Duo shouted a string of curses and tried to dodge the erratic paths of the bullets being fired at both him and Heero.

Hissing with pain as one grazed his arm, Heero didn't have time to remove his gun before Duo's surprised yelp jerked him from his movements.

Duo felt the metal beneath him collapse as he fell into the freight elevator, the man instantly pointing a gun at him before looking up to see Heero dart back from the view of the bomber.

"Get up, bastard!" The old man hissed, wrenching Duo up from his spot on the floor. Duo growled as he hissed in pain, hoping that none of his bones were broken.

Duo panted as he leaned against the wall before collapsing once again onto the floor, surrounded by bits and pieces of debris. He saw the man reach forward and press the button forty-six; the top floor.

Duo's violet eyes widened in realization—he was going to make Heero either come into the compartment where he was waiting or he would be crushed against the top of the floor.

"Damn." Heero muttered as he looked up and saw the metal and pulley pulling the elevator up coming closer and closer. He'd either die or… He bit his lower lip and jumped in through the same hole where Duo had fallen in.

He looked up from where he was on the floor to see the barrel of a shotgun in his face. He glared coldly at his enemy, not showing any fear.

"Well," the old man chuckled, "I don't think that they'll give me three million for you, now will they?" He pulled the trigger.

The safety clicked off and the cartridge fired, nothing coming out of the barrel. Heero blinked in an instant when the trigger was pulled and instantly, when he didn't feel the bullet hit him, yanked the gun out of the man's hand.

The man hissed with anger as the gun was removed from his hand, cursing himself for not loading it with more shells. Grabbing the still stunned braided man beside him, he yanked him up and brought him next to him with his bomb trigger out, control panel for the freight elevator behind him.

The same instant that the gun was pulled out of the enemy's hand, Heero whipped out his gun in an instant, aimed and ready at his foe.

He growled when he saw the detonation switch. He didn't care if he died if it meant taking out the bad guy as well, but Duo… he had a steady girlfriend who was soon to be his fiancé and she would haunt them forever if Duo died.

"You have no where to go." Heero growled, "There's back-up on the ground floor and they'll be waiting for you."

"Oh," the old man said as if it was someone telling him the weather, "Well, I guess that I'll have to go to floor three then, eh?" Heero narrowed his eyes.

The freight began to move down, slowly lowering to reach their destination. Chiming as it stopped, the doors to the elevator opened and Heero walked out, gun still trained on the man holding his partner as a hostage.

"Why are you willing to kill yourself?" Duo questioned, looking down at all the explosives strapped to the crazy man's head. "Three millions not worth it."

The man growled at him, "You have no idea how much three billions worth. You're probably never going to know."

"Tch." Duo replied sharply back, "Go ahead and drop the damn switch."

"Oh," the man questioned cheerfully, "Do you want to die now, huh?" He laughed, "So you want to die, _friend_?" Duo glanced at the crazy man and narrowed his eyes.

"You…_Son of a bitch_," Duo seethed. "You have no friends where you'll be going!"

"Oh," the man's arm felt like metal, making Duo gasp as it dug into his skin where the vest wasn't protecting him. "So it goes from, "I only have but one like to give for my country" to "son of a bitch"?"

Duo gasped again, looking down when he felt cool metal press against his open flesh on his torn shirt. He saw a mass of wires and metal, shaped into what looked like a…arm? The man snorted, "So you've noticed my arm, eh?"

Ignoring whatever the man was talking about, Heero settled to glaring and trying to get back his partner from the clutches of the bomber and his crazy ideas. "Give it up," Heero hissed, "You'll be caught eventually."

The man laughed coldly, "Oh you think so, do you?"

"Shoot…" Duo whispered, "Shoot the hostage." Heero stared at Duo, shaking his head fiercely in a negative.

"So he does really want to die?" The madman kept backing up, slowly making his way to the door.

"Shoot me." Heero glanced at Duo once again, then at the old man and then… then he pulled the trigger.

"Aah!" Duo clutched his leg as he was released, falling down to the ground and looking at Heero with a glare, "You _bastard!_ You **_SHOT_** me!" Heero shrugged, looking at the deer-in-headlights look on the soon-to-be-caught criminal.

"Freeze!" He leveled his gun once more, "You're under arrest." The man stared at him, coming out of his daze with a laugh, then, more laughs, and then came some sort of rather loud evil laughter.

The man opened the door and walked out, staring at Heero before his disappeared from sight.

Heero looked down at Duo, still facing the door, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah… I gu—"

An explosion tore the door from the wall, along with some of the wall itself. Heero was thrown backwards, roughly colliding with the wall, head hitting the drywall and some cement chunks scraping against his side and glass cutting into his skin.

Heero lost consciousness the minute that his head connected with a sharp 'crack!'. Rivulets of blood began trailing down his neck from the head wound.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You're such a crazy bastard." Duo crossed his arms and huffed rather loudly as he shot a glare at Heero without moving from the hospital bed.

Heero remained calm, not wanting to get another painful headache. His head was still against a pillow, wrapped in gauze like it had been for almost a day now. "You're the one who told me to shoot you."

"Well, I didn't expect you to!" Heero sighed heavily, getting a look from Duo.

"Are you all right?"

"I should be asking that question to you." Heero said as he tried to reposition himself on the uncomfortable bed, getting a painful reminder once again on why not to move when you've been thrown against cement and drywall and you're head connects with it.

"Well, six inches off the mark and I would have been a dead man." Heero snorted, muttering, "I knew where I was shooting."

Heero pulled himself up, staying still as he waited for his body to adjust to the pain. "I'm leaving."

"What! No way!" Duo protest, "The doctors and nurse' said for you to stay in bed too!" Heero raised an eyebrow at the braided chestnut teen, "I don't wanna be alone in here with their crappy hospital food!" He whined.

"Hn." He replied, "I'll bring you some McDonalds."

"Really?" Duo's eyes were shining with hope.

"No."

Duo glared and Heero smirked, "Dude, that's _not_ funny!" He crossed his arms once more, something he had taken up to over his time in recuperation.

Heero snorted and Duo decided to change the subject from food (which made him want to eat something), "Look, we're lucky that Zechs hired us."

Heero looked at Duo, "No, we aren't. We're some of the best and he knows it, even if we are fifteen." Duo grinned at that nodding.

"Still," the braided man continued, "The Preventer's might not like it if the public turns against them since we got hurt and all. Usually people our age are flipping burgers as Burger King or something."

"We're far from our age in mind and skill, Duo." Heero replied, eyes distant, "The public doesn't care if we're underage, Duo. They'd think of us as a possible threat."

"Hey, buddy—" Heero got up and grabbed his stuff, walking into the bathroom to change into his loose black jeans and tight-fitting black shirt.

"Hey," Duo called after Heero walked over to the door. The brunette turned to look at his partner, "Say 'hi' to Quat n' Tro for me." Heero nodded and opened the door, taking his exit and slipping easily out of the building.

Duo shook his head with laughter as he noticed none of the personnel noticed Heero leave until they came to check up on him. They were so frantic, Duo felt guilty and decided to cut them a break by telling them information on him from that, "He's already gone."

The next morning, Duo woke up and saw a McDonald's bag on the chair nearest to him, sill hot and fresh. A grin filled his face and he let out some laughs as he happily ate his breakfast that wasn't hospital food.

TBC

Author's note:

I should be working on a project for Government. And I should be working on catching up for my Bio class, which I just got transferred into, and I should be getting ready for the go-karting race I'm going to be participating in this weekend, but… I'm not. I bring you an update after a much long and hectic week of school work and other crap. I got a wicked replica of a WWI American army trench coat for winter and well… I grant this to all my reviewers for sticking around and bearing no updates for the span I didn't.

Yes, it was shorter than the other one. XP Love y'all! Thanks so much to everyone for the awesome reviews and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! I tried to make it somewhat amusing in some parts and as in character as I could. Cheers!

Love, Red Tail


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three, Chancing Time**

Heero and Duo both messed and fiddled with their cumbersome ties, Duo gagging and making complaints under his breath while they stood at attention in their official uniforms, not to easier to wear (and much more comfortable) field uniforms they wore.

So, here they were—at a big party with other officers who showed great courage as they were going to accept their awards. The people from the elevator saw th two officers and smiled, some offering waves. Duo would have happily waved back at them, but attention was required or Zechs would have his head.

"For showing great courage and bravery in a dire situation involving people's lives, Duo Maxwell." He stepped forward and turned, walking over to the speaker to accept his award.

He bent his neck, letting the person place the metal around his neck before bouncing back to his spot.

As the speaker was reading off what Heero had done, Duo whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "There giving you a metal for shooting me." Heero gave him a wicked grin as he walked forward upon hearing his name.

Applause erupted in the room as he inclined his head to him, going back to his spot next to his partner as the two of them waited for the ceremony to complete itself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ah," Duo let out the relaxed breath he was holding, "This is the life." Heero snorted as he took another swig of his alcohol.

"What?" Duo grinned evilly. "Even we deserve some livin' ever now and then."

"Yes, drinking alcohol illegally is considered living."

Laughing, Duo clapped his friend on the shoulder with a little too much more force than needed, "You need to find yourself a girl, bud!"

Zechs walked over to the duo, pun not intended, with a crowd of other Preventer's behind him with Lucrezia by his side and Treize with Une by her own.

"Ah!" Duo leaned forward in his seat, "Wu has a girl?" The Chinese man blushed and Sally returned the grin that Duo gave the two of them. He muttered something under his breath and Heero shook his head.

"Looks like Hee-chan's the only one left without a girl."

Heero took another drink from his beer and growled, "I have no time for a woman in my life."

"Yuy, are you forgetting how old you are?" Zechs said with a heavy sigh as he fingered his temple to try and relieve the pressure of stress that alcohol would certainly get rid of in no time.

"How old is he?" Une questioned, arm wrapped around Treize's waist and his around hers as well.

Laughing, the ginger haired man replied, "He's quite young actually—fifteen." Sally coughed on the glass of wine she was holding, spitting it's contents out.

"He shouldn't even be out of high school yet!" Heero shot Noin a cold glare and she stared at him in shock, the repeat of Treize's words spinning around like a broken record in his mind.

"How old did you think I was, onna?" Sally stumbled away from Wufei in shock as he crossed his arms and turned his head away from her with a snort. "Maxwell is the same age as well."

"You're not even old enough to be drinking!" Noin protested and Zechs looked at his soon-to-be wife who looked up at him with a look that said, 'stop them or else!'

"I can hold my liquor better than you." Noin jerked her head back around sharply, 'What?' was her response as she narrowed her eyes at the challenge.

"You heard him." Duo lazily said as he leaned back in his stool to lean against the counter as he waited for the dark-haired woman to accept the challenge. This was going to be fun indeed.

"I challenge you then!" If there was one thing she knew from working with a crazy bunch of alcoholics at work was that you learned to hold your alcohol and Noin considered herself fairly good at stuff like that.

"Fine." Heero looked up and Zechs looked about to protest but the looks Duo and Heero shot him silenced him. He sighed; his Noin would have to learn her lesson the hard way…

TBC

Author's note:

:Sigh:

Even shorter than the last… I feel guilty for how it went from so many pages to so few… Please forgive me, I'll try and make the next chapter as long as I can while I have the little adrenaline rush that I'm on.

Thanks to everyone for the reviews! XD

Love, Red Tail


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

Heero blinked open his eyes, glad that he actually shut the curtains in his room for once. The little light coming in from his apartment made him blink away the pain beginning from the headache. He raised his hand and rubbed the flesh over his throbbing skull, wondering just how many drinks he had actually had. Lucy—as she so forcefully told him to call her—had stopped after she'd drunk more than five and he… well, it was somewhere over ten or something.

Distantly, he remembered something about Zechs saying that he had to go to work tomorrow, even if he had a hangover. "Stubborn bastard…" Heero growled as he pushed himself off of his plush mattress.

He padded his way towards the bathroom to do his daily 'chores' and nearly slipped on the waxed floor with his loose socks. He pushed open the door and looked into the mirror and stared at himself. His eyes, thankfully, weren't blood shot or somehow drunk looking, but he did find himself sighing. He was more tired than he thought.

Reaching for his toothbrush and running a hand through his tousled hair to try and straighten it from it's bedraggled appearance, he let out a hiss in irritation and continued on with his morning business.

He shut the door and walked the short distance to his closet and grabbed his leather Preventer's jacket—which he barely used unless in the building since the AC was out of control and would be like the north pole at times. Grabbing a green tank top and grabbing some loose black jeans, he grabbed his belt with the gun holsters attached and tossed it onto the bed.

Staring with a look of disdain at the disarrayed sheets of his bed, he shook his head to ignore it and get on with more important matters, such as dressing himself. He decided, like the day before, that he'd make his bed later. It wasn't as if anyone, other than Duo, came to visit his home anyway.

He pulled off his shirt and tossed it towards the hamper, not really caring if it made it in or not. All he cared about at the early moment was coffee. Coffee and, of course, his muffins.

The sounds of the awake world below his apartment brought him from his brooding mind and he pulled open the curtains and the window to breath in the morning's fresh air.

Once, he remembered when he did such when he first moved in and the smell was horrible from the pollution and exhaustion in the air. Since then, he had moved with the help of his paycheck, to a more clean and civilized area.  
However, any area near Duo Maxwell wasn't considered 'clean' in his opinion. He would know, he had been to the boy's apartment—which happened to be right next door.

He smirked, shaking his head and decided to leave the braided baka to get up by himself, rather than making the boy breakfast to lure the teen out of his slumber. Duo was a glutton for food, especially that girl Hilde's.

He walked down the hallway, slipping on his shoes as he went and slung his jacket over his shoulders and slipped his arms through the sleeves and rolled them up to his elbows. He opened the door and grabbed his keys, quietly closing the door.

He wouldn't want to wake Duo up and spoil his fun, now would he?

Besides, he was certain that despite the lack of memory from the previous night, that Duo had consumed more alcohol than he had. That was a scary thought… a certain Duo Maxwell with a hangover did not mix in the least.

"So, it's off to another eventful day." He grumbled, knowing that Zechs was probably plotting on what he could do next to torture his two favorite victims—er, workers. "He's such a sadist."

"Who is?" Heero looked up, taken aback that someone had actually managed to sneak up on him.

Seeing as it was only Mrs. O'learly, he smiled slightly, "My boss." The old woman smiled and the wrinkles on her face stood out even more with her defined dimples.

"Oh," waving slightly, she nodded, "Of course, that nice long-haired friend of yours."

"Which one? Duo or Zechs?" He joked and the older woman laughed once more, waving a goodbye as she entered her apartment.

"Do come and visit more often, deary." Her eyes sparkled as if she was still young, which Heero knew that she was if not in body then in heart.

He nodded, "When I have time." He offered, hoping to make the other woman feel at least a little better. He knew that her husband had passed away over two ears ago to this very week.

Her eyes softened, as if saddened by something, "Of course." Then, she closed the door, leaving Heero to muse over his thoughts.

He continued his way, making his way down the stairs. After the whole elevator incident, Duo and he had found that both decided to take the longer route, and the 'safer' one.

Somehow, even with the bomber dead from the bomb's blast, Heero had an uneasy feeling in his gut that something was going to happen. One would say congratulations to him, thinking it was a good feeling that people usually feel, but the only one'' Heero knew were foreboding and usually ended with pain and suffering.

His mind flashed back to Odin and his fists clenched involuntarily and he forced away the mental image of the blonde-haired man smiling at him, wearing his own Preventer's jacket.

'Get a hold of yourself,' he snapped mentally, 'You haven't the time for this.' He pushed open the door that led to the outside world and made his way over to his jeep. He jammed the car keys into the lock and turned it, yanking the door open.

Distantly, he heard the sounds of something in the complex crashing and a loud string of curses. One thought came to mind; 'Duo's awake.' He gunned the vehicle and shot down the road to his favorite coffee store.

XXXXXXXXXX

His car slid into a parking space with experienced ease and he parked the car, pulling out his keys from the ignition and opening the door. He languidly made his way to the busy, but quaint, little coffee shop on the corner of Baker's Street. He smiled when the smell of fresh brewed coffee reached his nose, as well as the smell of the store's infamous muffins.

"Hey, Heero." The chocolate-haired boy turned to see the person calling him and nodded a greeting to a burly looking man slipping gloves onto his hands. The older man hobbled over to him and flashed him a crazy grin.

"How are you, G?"

Still hobbling to keep up with the teen, who slowed down even more to walk with the old man. "Perfectly fine, m' boy!" He cheerily replied, a cough added at the end of the sentence.

"Shouldn't you be retired by now?" Heero joked, the older man not only a friend to his late father and himself, but also a mentor on some of his and Duo's training in weaponry.

G had a military life, being drafted into the military and staying there until his services were served to his country and he was free to go.

"Are you kidding? I'm in my prime now, wrecking havoc across the world, one bus at a time!" He cackled evilly and entered the shop, Heero following behind.

Raising an eyebrow at his words, Heero felt a smirk creep onto his face, "Still trying to prove to that friend of yours that you can drive a bus longer than him?"

"Actually," G paused for a moment and huffed indignantly, "Yes." Heero chuckled silently to himself.

"I'll have a expresso!" G commanded in a mocking tone. The man behind the counter nodded, used to this treatment and laughed as he got the order ready.

"The usual?" the man questioned, nodding in Heero's direction after he had finished with the older man's order.

Heero nodded, "Black, no sugar and no cream."

G chuckled, "You know that stuff with stunt your growth, especially when you like it so strong."

Heero glared.

The man behind the counter gave Heero his drink and rang up the bill for the two of them, first G and then Heero—adding in two muffins like usual. "He's right, ya know, Heero!"

Heero grunted, "Only you would agree with that crazy old man." He pulled out his wallet and removed the proper amount of money, as well as a tip.

"Yes, well you can blame your shortness on your addiction!" The man continued, accepting the bills and putting them in the cash register. He leaned against the counter and tilted his head at the teen.

"Hn," Heero replied once more. "My addiction helps keep you guys in business." G chuckled.

"He's partially right. If I weren't so used to coming here, if not for the cheap prices, then I'd be off to Starbucks!"

"Don't you have a bus to run, old man?" The worker grunted in a taunting manner and gestured towards the waiting bus on the other side of the street.

"Well, I got no people in it." The old man shrugged but turned anyway and waved over his shoulder, making his exit with his coffee in hand.

"Hey," the man reminded, "Don't forget your muffins Heero!"

Heero nodded, grabbing his muffins and also made his way outside towards his jeep. He put the coffee on top of the roof, fishing out his keys with one hand and balancing two muffins in the other.

He heard the sounds of the bus starting, rumbling down the street. Just as he felt his fingers touch metal in his pocket, ready to grab them and drive off, the sounds of an explosion startled him. The blast sent him forward from the after blast, almost colliding with the side of his car. Turning quickly, he saw the bus, ripped apart by the explosion slowly making it's way to a stop on the street.

He dashed towards in, muffins forgotten as well as his coffee. "G!" The teen shouted, rushing up as close as he dared along side the rolling vehicle of burning metal. He ran up alongside the driver's window and gagged, slowing his pace to a near stop as the bus halted as well.

He pulled away from the explosion and the image of G's burning flesh, already ripped apart from the explosion made him turn his back from the sight. Odin haunted him once more and he angrily shook his head, hand fisting in his hair to sharply grab the soft tendrils.

"Damnit!" He loudly cursed, the roar from the flame almost drowning out his furious cry. "God damnit! Damnit! Damnit, damnit! D-"

The sound of a phone ringing made him stop his string of curses and he stared at the innocent payphone. He glared at it, but walked toward it cautiously none the less.

Grabbing the phone off it's hook, he brought the device up to his ears. The voice on the other side of the phone almost made him drop the phone in shock.

"Hello, Heero."

TBC

Author's note: Gasp! Another chapter is… is finished! And, I made it so that it's longer than two pages like the last chapter! Yes! Okay, so I hope that this chapter was enjoyable. I realize that Heero is somewhat out of character, but I had to make some sort of reaction come from him to portray the emotions in the ending part. Please forgive me if you disliked that part for the slight oocness. XP I hope that all readers and/or reviewers enjoyed! This one was for you, SVS 'cause you didn't like how short the other one was! XP

Love, Red Tail


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

"Wait! Hold the bus!"

The bus driver chuckled and shook his head in exasperation, even though it had been almost a year since he met the daily rider of his bus he couldn't stop himself from chuckling every day as they went through the same routine.

It was amusing to seeing the same girl run late every morning from staying under the lights of the personal studio she had in her house. The barely visible dark circles under her face showed her determination while working on a piece until the wee hours of morning. Yet, somehow the dark circles never seemed to matter because her smile at the product overpowered any worry. Sometimes, she came in with smudges of graphite still on her face, but her eyes and face were smiling none the less—as if her happiness couldn't be shattered. Vaguely at times, Walker wondered what left the girl in such a happy state.

"She's still running, you know." One of the passenger's reminded, looking out the window to see thefrantic person still running with an arm flapping as much as it could without dropping anything, the other trying to do a balance act with coffee and art supplies.

A teenager clutched her hot cup of coffee astightly as she dared without spilling the liquid all over herself. Her blonde hair spilled out in long tresses from the loose bun held up from a worn-down pencil she had done up in the morning's rush. Her jacket was slipping off her shoulders, book bag slung over shoulders and a completed canvas clutched under the arm holding the coffee. She frantically waved her hands as much as she could without dropping anything to get the bus driver's attention and hoped, even daring to pray at times,that the bus would stop.

Finally, the bus stopped and she panted as she looked at Walker, who was grinning at her in an amused fashion. "Well, Miss Darlain, this ain't no bus stop!"

She shook her head and smiledher thanks and stepped onto the bus, taking a seat and looking over at the person sitting beside her, a delicate blonde by the name of Leia Barton. She was always so quiet, but it didn't stop her kindness in any way, but she always seemed so fragile.

"Hello," Leia quietly greeted with a soft smile, a hidden sad look in her green eyes. He relaxed into her seat and Relena smiled at her, giving her a warm hello also while she sipped her coffee in between the other stops of the ride.

She closed her eyes and leaned her back against the seats cushions. She pulled her bag full of art supplies close to her. A sense of warmth and happinessflowed through her as she rememberedthat she was pursuing her lifelong dream—art. Currently, she was a freshman in a well-known art college.

Her father, of course that said that it wouldn't be right for a daughter of the famous Peacecraft to go to their own college of arts and politics, too many students that could pose a threat to one of the two heirs of their family.

She had just smiled at him, reminding him of Milliardo's choice to leave his name behind, as well as his history and past. She explained that she wanted to express herself not through politics, but through pictures and images.

Her mother, of course, had been supportive. But, the issue of her safety always came up, no matter how good her artwork andpersistancewere.

As she closed her eyes, she remembered crying herself to sleep once in the middle of the night when a kidnapping plot had happened, stiffening her father's resolve on the matter.

Still today, she wondered if her mother had heard her quiet sobs that came from the ache in her souls and somehow managed to convince her father. Relena Peacecraft died that day, and Relena Darlain was born instead—living as the daughter of one of her former father's advisors. At least, until she was through with college, would she remain as such.

She chose though to not dwell on the past and live her life day by day, taking what was given to her when destiny through choices and chances at her.

Her heart still had a thread of fear, wondering if someone would figure her out her secret that she was a Peacecraft daughter. She hoped that any pursuers would be too smart to look in the most overlooked place—her father's own college where she attended.

"Isn't it such a lovely day?" Leia quietly commented in that small voice of hers, looking up at the sky. Somehow, the simple words struck Relena as something else—making the teen wonder just how troubled Leia was, and over what.

She seemed like such a doll lately, fragile and pale as ever. Speaking in a low and soft tone, Relena all but breathed out the name "Leia…" in a soft whisper. The woman turned a little, acknowledging her name, but not letting her eyes meet Relena. They stayed where they were, gaze cast downward on the floor.

Relena opened her mouth, prepared to talk more to her friend, but aloud and annoying car horn interrupted her. She looked out her window and saw a jeep in the distance and a teen jump out of the car quickly, jacket almost falling off from his shoulder like her own had during her rush to catch the bus as well.

"Who is that?" One of the other passengers questioned, if not to himself then to the other occupants.

"Don't know." Walker mumbled as he glanced out of the rear view mirror. Shrugging it off as nothing of importance, he continued to stare ahead andclosely watch the morningtraffic as it inched along, moving faster at some times than others.

"Hey!" the man who jumped out of thejeep shouted, running alongside the now moving bus, pounding on the side of the windows and buses as he ran towards the door. The people on that side of the buswatched the teen with questioning and confused eyes.

Walker glanced to his right, seeing the teenager run alongside the door and pounded on it, obviously a little too hard since the glass cracked. Spider webs formed along the cracked glass, making Walker growl and narrow his eyes.

"Don't let him on!" Relena commented loudly with a glare, looking at the ruined door. Did that person know how much that would take from Walker's salary?

Who was this kid?

The person looked to be in his mid-teens, an aura of strength and will surrounding him almost. The fierce and feral look in the deep blue eyes stood out and caught Walker's eyes most. Long chocolate brown hair hung over the eyes, blowing in the wind in a tangled mess. His skin was tannish, or maybe it was just the sun. Walker put the face to memory so that he would be able to report the person for smashing his window.

Once more, anger bubbled in Walker's chest as he stared at the cracked window for a brief instant before turning away and keeping his eyes on the road, ignoring the stranger as he put his foot to the gas and made the bus go faster. Walker let out a laugh as he pressed on the gas, the teen still pounding on the bus as he tried to catch up.

Fianlly, the mysterious teen was left behind.

Heero cursed as the bus continued on and still tried to catch up, hoping that the occupants or driver would hear him or stop.

"I'm a Preventer, damnit!" The teen shouted. The bus continued on.

Panting as he turned around and stopped in the traffic-filled road, he held out his hands to stop one of the moving cars coming at him. The first and second cars swerved out of the way and he flashed his badge at the third, the car screeching to a halt.

"Preventer, hand over the car!" Heero growled, immediately loosing any and all patience in the matter—innocent lives were at hand.

"Man, this car is NOT stolen!" the driver protested.

Heero whipped out his gun, making the driver's eyes go wide as he stared at the barrel, shouting a curse at seeing the firearm with it's safety off. "It is now."

The man continued to stare for what seemed like minutes, but was only seconds. Heero growled, "Move over!" The man moved over like an obedient person.

Heero hopped in, slammed the door shut and pressed his foot to the gas, immediately gaining speed as he rushed off to follow that bus.

TBC

Author's note: The next chapter will hopefully be longer, if I'm lucky and include the phone call conversation with the mysterious caller. I have to say that I'm on a roll today! I've finished chapter four and this chapter all within something like two hours while listening to my 'The Last Unicorn' songs. What can I say? It motivates me… sadly, my iPod is charging so I'm left with CD's.

Enough with this rambling though; I'm wasting my time when I could be writing more!

I hope that the chapter was enjoyable, and as fast paced and wonderful as the movie—I strongly suggest to any that are allowed to see R rated films that you see the movie if you like action and fast-paced movies like I.

I will say something in this though about the story, in a way that it is NOT related to the movie. I will NOT kill Duo. Lif flipped when she read that Duo was the partner and nearly strangled me until I was able to explain (in between the choking) that I wasn't going to kill him. I can't find it in my heart to kill anyone in this story, other than the evil bastard.

Does anyone have a guess at who the bad guy is from the descriptions I've given in chapters?

Thanks to anyone who is reading and (or) reviewing for this chapter and others! Does this answer the question on the whole 'When is relena showing up?' Also, this chapter is for SVS who wanted the next chapter out!

Love, Red Tail


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Heero gripped the steering wheel tightly; knuckles white as the owner of the vehicle in the seat beside him, begging him to take better care of his precious jaguar. Heero ignored the man, too lost in his own thoughts.

_Heero eyes widened before narrowing into a glare, gripping the telephone tightly as he growled out, "I thought you were dead."_

_The man on the other side of the line chuckled. Heero looked up, glancing around with murderous eyes to look for his prey. Somehow, he had a gut feeling that the bastard was somewhere near._

"_Did you really think I would go down so easily?"_

_Now it was Heero's turn to retort, "Yes."_

_The man growled, "You shut up and listen." Heero had a feeling that there was even more to come, sensing the man's evil smirk through his tainted and malicious words._

Heero glanced down and saw a car phone and grabbed it, "I need you to do me a favor—call this number; 454 678 9087—now!"

The man jumped at the harsh tone, snapped out of his momentary shock, and grabbed phone in a hurry and punched the numbers in as fast as he could without dialing the wrong number.

"Thanks," Heero mumbled and took the phone from the frightened man's hands. He knew that the man was still casting nervous glances at the gun located in the holster, holding a silent and deadly unheard threat. However, despite that silent presence, the man found it in himself to relax and enjoy the fast-paced ride.

At least the Preventer had good driving skills and had avoided all cars as of yet.

"So," he looked at the teen waiting as the phone rang, "How old are you?" the man didn't even look at least eighteen!

"Fifteen." Heero snapped as he glared at the road, driving with ease with one hand. He avoided another collision with a stopped car that happened to be in the way towards his destination.

"F-fifteen?" He thought he heard the passenger stutter with a shocked look in wide eyes. Now, he was sure, the manfeared for his life since he knew how old he was. Vaugely, Heero wondered what the age limit for teenagers to drive was now. He didn't really care since he had a special license for working with the Preventers. "Hey--you--"The man was still talking, but Heero ignored him once more, too lost in the previous activities of the day.

"_You took what was mine—I worked and planned that elevator job for so long—ten long years—and you go around and screw with my life savings!"_

_Heero all but growled though clenched teeth, "You didn't earn that money!"_

"_Oh," the man corrected with a sneer and condensending tone, "I certainly did—after so long you earn what you get in life and I have **certainly** worked for that million!"_

"_Why are you doing this?" G's melted and burned body flashed in his mind, "Why couldn't you have gone after me!"_

"_Because, this isn't about **you**," the man growled in a dangerously crazy tone, "this is about **me**! It always has been, ever since the start!" The man panted from seeping anger on the other line before collecting himself._

"_What do you want?"_

"_To get my money. There is a bus, and it has a bomb on it." Heero's blood went cold, running like liquid ice through his veins—people, innocent people like G, flashed through his mind, charred and disfigured beyond belief._

"_Are you paying attention, Heero? Heero!" The man's impatience crept into his voice and Heero glared at the receiver, anything that happened to be in his eyesight._

"_Yes, I'm listening." He all but growled at the man._

_On the other side of the connection, the man smirked, "Good." He paused, "Now, once the bus reaches fifty miles per hour, the bomb is set. Then, when it goes below fifty," he paused once more, "It blows up." Heero blood ran like ice through his veins._

_There was a silence over the line, making the crazy man wonder if Heero was listening or not. "I want ten million—it started out as six, but because you've caused me so much trouble I had to raise the price."_

"_You bastard…" Heero clenched his fists so tightly that he felt his nails digging into the fleshy part of his palm. _

_The man chuckled, "You're so vocal, just like your friend." He tapped the receiver, making Heero glare at the momentary static, "Now, what are you going to do, Heero?"_

_He took a deep breath to calm himself, a cool and emotionless mask slipping onto his features, "I'd want to know what bus the bomb was on."_

"_Uh –uh!" The man reprimanded, "That's against the rules. The deadline for the money is eleven o'clock."_

"_There's not enough time to pull that kind of money."_

_The man growled on the other line this time, "Focus, Heero!" He taunted, "Your concern is the passengers, not the money!"_

"_What's the bus number?" Heero knew it was just a game—a deadly game the man was playing with people as pawns, just like himself._

"_It's 2525, going—" the phone was already out of his hands, dropped as he made a dash as fast as he could to his jeep. He hopped in and revved the engine, speeding off with an image of the city's map in his head._

"Heero?" the person on the other line said, clearing his throat from the grogginess, "You'd better not be calling in sick today just 'cause of all those drinks 'cause I dragged my ass out of bed—"

"He's back." Heero snapped, interrupting Duo's rant.

His eyes remained focussed on the road, keeping an eye on the bus that had broken free from the traffic jam. He hit the pedal even harder, pushing the car past seventy as he dodged cars from left to right and so forth.

On the other side of the line, at the Preventer's office, Duo jerked to attention, eyes looking more awake and alive then before. "What?"

"The bomber—he's back."

Duo frowned, eyebrows knit together in confusion—"How? He died in that explosion—"

"Duo," Zechs interrupted, walking into the office with a stern aura around him. "There's been a bus—exploded. Luckily, it was only the driver and not a lot of passengers. Sadly, there's almost nothing left, not even a body. We've gotten a ransom note that says that your dead bomber wants ten mill." He looked around, eyeing the empty desk.

"Where's Heero?"

Duo sighed and rolled his eyes, "Where do you think?"

TBC

Author's note: Thanks to everyone for the great reviews! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Lif, this one's been updated for you since I'm surprised that you've even bothered to read one of my stories (no shock you chose this one XD). I hope everyone's enjoyed this chapter--sorry for the long pause in updates. Homecoming is this weekend (today actually) but the parade is cancelled, so I figured that I'd update.

Love, Red Tail


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